Stantec designing rail signal system for Dallas transit

Engineering firm Stantec is designing a new signaling system for a portion of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) system in Dallas, Texas. The new system is part of the construction of the new Lake Highland station along the light rail's Blue Line between downtown Dallas and Garland.

As part of the signaling
system, Stantec’s rail signals specialists are adding new software and hardware
to support the new power switch interlocking system, which essentially governs
the signals to trains that indicate whether it is safe to pass through upcoming
intersections. The team will also test the system to make sure it operates
safely before the new station opens.

The new station is part of
DART’s 2030 transit expansion plan, which is focused on fostering public
transportation and developing transit-oriented communities throughout the
Dallas area. Construction of the new Lake Highland station has already begun,
and it is expected to open in late 2010.

The firm is now wrapping up
design of a similar signaling and communications system for an extension of the
Miami-Dade Metrorail, a 22.5-mile heavy-rail line that travels between downtown
Miami, Fla., and its suburbs. Stantec is replacing the existing control system
at the Metrorail’s Earlington Heights station with a state-of-the-art
microprocessor control system, a first for the Miami-Dade Metrorail. The
microprocessor controls will automatically record system data and improve the
system’s diagnostic capabilities. New signals and controls, switch machines,
electronic track circuits and upgraded communications networks will also be
installed as part of the project. The system is expected to go into
manufacturing and assembly later this year and be completed by mid 2012.

Stantec’s rail signal
specialists have designed a number of similar control systems for rail lines
across the country, including the transit and light rail systems in
Philadelphia, Houston, Cleveland and Norfolk, Va.